Connie Merlino is a Partner at FB Rice and leads the Sydney based computing and electronics team. Since joining FB Rice in 2000, Connie has specialised in patent drafting and prosecution across a range of ICT technologies, including software, telecommunications, data communications, security, databases and imaging. She also has significant experience in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing, as well as application software across sectors including mining, logistics, finance and manufacturing.
Connie advises a diverse client base ranging from start-ups and small companies to universities and large international organisations. She has extensive experience prosecuting patent applications in Australia and key global markets, including across Asia, and is known for her ability to quickly understand complex technologies and provide commercially focused advice.
Connie has been recognised among the Top 250 Women in IP Worldwide by Managing Intellectual Property from 2022 to 2025. She has also been named an IP Star for Patent Prosecution by Managing Intellectual Property each year since 2018 and recommended in the IAM Patent 1000 Prosecution rankings since 2019.
- Master of Industrial Property, University of Technology Sydney
- Bachelor of Science in Computing Science, Macquarie University
- Bachelor of Laws, Macquarie University
- Fellow - The Institute of Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys of Australia (IPTA)
- Committee member International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI)
- Member - Licensing Executive Society of Australia New Zealand (LESANZ)
- Member - NSW Society for Computers and the Law
- Member - Intellectual Property Society of Australia and New Zealand (IPSANZ)
- Admitted as a Solicitor to the Supreme Court of NSW
